This exact thing is happening right here in Tenafly, and elsewhere in Bergen County…though very few homes are being built. Let’s not go wild with the idea that everything in housing is getting better and larger throughout the entire marketplace, when in fact this is just a microcosm of the housing market

The article talks about how Toll Brothers, one of the largest home builders in the country is building a new project in Randolph New Jersey, and the homes are large and they’re sitting on large properties.

Slightly more than 1 in 4 new homes built last year were larger than 3,000 square feet, the highest percentage since 2007

To a large extent, people are still putting off new homes. The number of new single-family dwellings built last year fell to 447,000, off 72.9 percent from the 2006 high of 1.65 million. About 236,000 of the new ones, or more than half, were built in the South

I think that all of the new homes that were built in Tenafly as spec homes, were more than 3,000sf….probably 20% larger. And this means that they have to sell for higher prices (hopefully). And there have even been a few ultra luxury spec home the have been built in Tenafly that are well over 6,000 sf and are listed between $3.4-$4 million. One has sold in in this price range in 2012 in Tenafly.

Frankly, I’m one of those who believed that people were over the idea of buying huge homes, because of their price, cost to maintain and mostly because of the insanely high property taxes that we so much enjoy paying in Tenafly. and elsewhere in New Jersey. We do have the distinction of having the highest property taxes in the country, and the highest auto insurance rates in the country as well.

However, if the getting larger thing continues, then Tenafly, Cresskill, Alpine and Demarest will get it fair share of the pie.

Something interesting is happening with the two most expensive listings in Alpine…and I don’t think they were sold!

A few weeks ago The Stone Mansion which was for sale at $56 million was suddenly taken off the market. I heard rumors that someone was buying this super ultra mega luxury home. But then the rumor-mill dried up. And it’s still off the market.

And now i just noticed that the original Frick estate home, and all it’s acreage was suddenly taken off the market. But that home was only listed at a mere $29 million. So what happened?

If you have any ideas what is going on here behind the scenes…even if it’s a rumor (though we prefer facts), then let us know.

What is it about the Stone Mansion in Alpine that is bringing a healthy number of hits to this site?

Stone Mansion photo by Evan Joseph

Is it that it’s one of the most expensive homes for sale in the USA…$56 million

Is it because it still hasn’t sold

Maybe it’s because it’s a humongous house @ 30,000+- sf

Is it because it’s in Alpine

is it because we like to peek into how nice it would be to be able to own something so grand

I don’t know what all the intrigue is all about, and that’s why I’m asking.

In the next few days when the sun finally comes out, I’ll stop by the front gate and I’ll see if I can snap a few pictures. I too am getting tired of looking at the same pictures over and over again. It’s time for something new.

Please let me know what’s grabbing your attention with the Stone Mansion. And if you’re interested in maybe buying it, contact me, and I’ll get you in to see it 🙂

Disclaimer: Because I had developed Tamcrest Estates, and it became the most expensive residential enclave in the northeast, I did consulting work for the developer of the Stone Mansion and the attached development, as to how to effectively market this project throughout the world. So I’m more than familiar with the home and the project.

The east hill in Tenafly is on fire with new home construction…and they’re your run of the mill average homes. These ultra luxury homes are anywhere from 6,000-9,000sf + on one acre…with values ranging from $3.0-$4.5 million.

And luckily for us taxpayers, the tax increases for these homes compared to the older homes that were knocked down is a whopped…a 50-100% increase in property taxes per new home.

The tax increase from new home construction is something that the Tenafly School board doesn’t talk openly about. They like to hide this new found money, so they can still go for their yearly tax increases.

Like I said on previous post regarding the housing market in Tenafly…IT’S HOT!